If your business is serious about developing employees by offering regular training and the opportunity to learn new skills, then you’ll likely know about the advantages of a learning management system (LMS).

Learning management system software allows you to store, organize, create, and monitor all training materials used by your business. It streamlines the training process for a business owner and HR personnel point of view, as well as the employees taking the training.

But how do you decide which LMS is best for your business? There are so many learning management systems available that the choice can be overwhelming. In this post, we’re going to take a look at the features you need to look out for, how to make sure an LMS aligns with your business goals, and how employees can get the most out of their e-learning experience.

While every business will use a learning management system with a slightly different goal in mind, the basic reason is usually the same: to provide a simple, convenient, and accessible e-learning experience for all users.

With that in mind, there are several essential features you need to ensure an LMS has so it can provide a well-rounded experience.

AI in LMS is essential because without it there can be very little automation. AI removes the need for long-winded manual processes and can help identify skill gaps, provide real-time assistance and feedback, improve accessibility, generate content, and provide a personalized learning experience.

Some learning management systems don’t offer instant reports, which instead have to be requested - which can take a few days to be generated and sent. Good LMS reporting features need to be instant, easy to understand, and offer the option to present the data visually so it can be quickly digested by stakeholders and decision-makers.

While it’s important that an LMS is simple and accessible for HR employees and business owners, it’s more important that greater focus has been placed on making the learning experience easy for students.

Your LMS should never share your users’ data and should have all the necessary security in place to protect it.

You want your LMS to reflect your brand, and the option to personalize the experience so it has your business’s colors, logos, and messaging is a must.

By grouping employees, you ensure the right employees get access to only the learning materials appropriate to them. This also bypasses lengthy manual admin processes.

When employees join your business, ensure onboarding is simple, and new starters can be assigned courses and materials quickly. An LMS is also a great tool for making sure new employees complete compulsory training.

You want to be confident that students are absorbing what they’re learning so they can put new skills into practice, so assessment tools make sure employees engage with the material.

For more information, read our blog on what do people want from their learning management system?

Can you integrate the LMS with other software?

One of the major features of an LMS is the ability for it to work with other key pieces of software. Without LMS integration you’ll find that you’ll spend just as much time on administrative tasks as if you weren’t to utilize an LMS at all.

Software you will likely want to integrate with your LMS includes:

CFM (customer relationship management) software

What type of content will the LMS support?

There are seven different learning styles, which means it’s unlikely that all employees will be able to learn from just one training style. For that reason, your system needs to support a wide range of LMS course content and learning materials so all employees have the opportunity to develop.

Good LMS content management also makes a big difference to engagement, and low engagement will affect the impact the training has on employees.

The types of content your LMS should support include:

Videos are one of the most common forms of e-learning content and help visual learners retain information. Videos may be embedded from platforms such as YouTube, or uploaded directly to the LMS - you’ll want to clarify which if you intend on uploading your own internal training videos.

Video content includes recorded and edited footage, webinars, recorded face-to-face content, whiteboards, and interactive videos.

A lot of training content is presented in written form, often accompanied by images, charts, and graphics. Copy must be formatted in a way that makes it easy to read and digest, and not presented as a wall of text.

Presentations are a frequently used tool in business and can be an effective way to learn. While slides are commonly accompanied by somebody presenting the information, they can also be a useful e-learning tool.

Podcast-style content is ideal for aural learners, and is also a useful way to learn when traveling or undertaking menial tasks that don’t require the full attention of students.

Dialogue simulation is a useful interactive learning tool that is good for teaching customer service and communication skills, by encouraging the student to interact by simulating real-world scenarios.  

Not only do quizzes and assessments encourage employees to engage with the course materials, but they also help them retain information so they can use their newly developed skills and knowledge.

Not for everyone, but gamification adds a fun and competitive angle to e-learning. Utilizing points, awards, and league tables incentivizes learning by rewarding top-performing employees.

Many learning management systems will offer basic content creation - which you may want to consider if your organization intends on producing its own training material. 

However, if your business wants to create a large volume of detailed content, you may want to consider also implementing an LCMS - Learning Management Content System. An LCMS will often have more content creation tools and features than an LMS. However, if you’re interested in creating simple content then this should be possible with a good LMS.

Can it be grown to support a larger number of users and content?

You need to be mindful of whether or not your LMS can change dependent on your business’s requirements as it grows. Does the LMS provide scalability to grow alongside your business?

Adding users to your LMS is vital, and you want to ensure there are no caps or limitations, either imposed by the service level you have, or whether the software can cope with thousands of users.

An LMS that cannot keep up with your business will invariably hold you back by preventing you from training and developing your employees.

Make sure your LMS can handle the following as your business grows:

How does the LMS system align with your strategy and vision?

A learning and development strategy is vital for any business. Without one, you’re not going to get the most out of your employees, who are going to become frustrated as they stagnate.

You need to ensure that your LMS shares similar values to your business. If it doesn’t, then you’ll quickly realize that it’s not the right LMS for you. Your e-learning strategy must align with your LMS strategy, or else the two won’t work together effectively or efficiently.

While employees will do a majority of their learning at work, such as during time blocked out for development or periods of downtime, this may not always be the case. Sometimes, employees may find themselves in a position to learn while away from their desks, such as during a commute or while visiting a client.

Because of this, LMS access shouldn’t be restricted to just desktop users. A good LMS will be mobile-friendly, so it can be accessed on a smartphone or tablet. Some learning management systems even have a dedicated app.

While organizations shouldn’t expect employees to learn outside of working hours, the option should be there for students who are keen to develop their skills and knowledge at a faster rate.

Go1 integrates with leading learning management systems

There are hundreds of learning management systems available, and choosing an LMS that’s right for your business can be challenging. Make sure to consider all features offered, and that it aligns with your goals and values.

Go1 integrates with many platforms, including leading learning management systems, enabling you and your employees to conveniently access our vast range of learning resources and courses quickly and conveniently.

For more insights, subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or, you can book a demo today to find out how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs.

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Aligning the correct features and capabilities with your learning and development strategy is essential. Get help from the experts at Go1.

Choosing the right learning management software in 2022  | Go1

Learning management system software allows you to store, organize, create, and monitor all training materials used by your business. But how do you decide which one is best, and make the most out of it?

Which modern LMS system is best for your business?

Thought-provoking discussions continue in day two’s streamed session with panellists Naomi Hepworth, Sales Manager at Go1, Amanda Nolen, Co-Founder of Niles-Nolen, Satnam Sagoo, Associate Chief People Officer at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Paul Neville Freelance Positive Change Leader, on utilising L&D to upskill and retain existing talent in the post-Pandemic world. 

Amanda opens the conversation by examining how organisations have transitioned to digital learning platforms. Naomi vocalises the importance of having a support system in place for time training and remote working practises. Reflectively, Naomi and Satnam highlighted an initial focus on redeployment instead of considering post-pandemic learning support and what skills L&D professionals need to support and align with the people’s experiences. Paul adds the success of rapid learning and adaptability, but reflects on how it ultimately took a global crisis to apply pre-existing tech systems of virtual learning and digital environments. 

The complexities of successful learning curation

Delving into people strategy further, Amanda notes that offering learning opportunities is a key attraction to employees but questions how this translates to obtaining future skills. Naomi answers, looking at this engagement as a positive indicator but stresses we should consider how these learning objectives align with the strategic direction of organisations. Amanda asks the audience to consider their relationship with talent and whether this connects with L&D practises. 

Satnam says balancing leading, collaborating and advocating are essential to shaping a person’s experience. Agreeing, Paul adds that there should be a symbiotic relationship between talent and learning functions. A concerted upscale strategy, needs to distinguish the difference between perceived needs and real needs, and reflect on those problems internally before curating content.

Next, the team explores the importance of integrating practical experience and not solely linear L&D programmes to ensure challenge and stretch objectives are being met. 

They look at the overall, dynamic learning journey, with a focus on progression, coaching and self development in order to branch individuals into more personalised learning pathways. Concluding with a practical analogy, Amanda says ‘we wouldn’t want a brain surgeon performing an operation on us who had only read text books.'

Wrapping up the session, Amanda encourages the audience to reflect on what metrics matter. Aligning content curation with the right people, providing opportunities of practise and application, are all crucial in furthering the L&D journey and closing the skill gaps. 

Unanimously, the panel concluded that it’s vital to first establish the end performance goal you’re working towards, prior to technology enhancement, in order to assess whether the learning platforms offered are successful in driving KPIs and business performance.

You can catch up on the full session below. 

How to master the art of L&D content curation (Day 2 session of Learning Tech)

Check out the full wrap-up of our time and favourite moments from Festival of Work, 2022 here. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or book a demo today and discover the ways Go1 can help with your organisation's learning needs.

For our next Festival at Work session we dive further into mastering the art of L&D content curation with Go1's Naomi Hepworth and an expert panel. They discuss the complexities and opportunities within L&D to develop and retain employees in the new working world.

The modern complexities of L&D content curation

Learning should be a lifelong pursuit. As the saying goes, you learn something new every day. Yet, too often, we think of learning as something that happens at school and other formal institutions when we’re younger. 

Without this formal setting, adult learning is often an afterthought; something that just happens, with little thought given to how to best approach and structure this learning. 

At Go1, we think this is a shame. After all, a love of learning is one of life’s great gifts. Adult learning principles should be considered and bespoke, differing vastly from childhood learning principles. By approaching the two similarly, we deprive many adults of the opportunity to experience engaging, relevant lifelong learning. 

So, we’ve decided to examine the fundamentals of adult learning principles to aid your learning journey. We’ll start by asking what adult learning principles are, before analysing the six principles of adult learning.

In the mid-1970s, American educator Malcolm Knowles began to recognise that adult learning differs significantly from childhood learning. These differences are due to adults having lived much longer lives, and therefore already have motivations and experiences that drive them. Understanding these differences means learning can be just as effective following adolescence. To describe this theory, Knowles popularised the term andragogy to refer to adult learning. 

Andragogy is the opposite of pedagogy, which refers to childhood learning. As such, adult learning theory explores the different ways adults retain new information. By understanding this, it enables teachers and trainers to prepare lessons and materials which benefit a wider range of learners.

The term andragogy is derived from the Greek words andra, meaning 'man', and agogos, meaning 'leader of'. Literally translated, andragogy means ‘leading man’ or ‘man-leading’.

As Enablers of Change explains, “Knowles saw that adults learned differently from children – something that seems obvious now – but he was able to articulate this difference with the concept of andragogy.” 

These days, it may seem self-evident that adults and children learn very differently. However, in Knowles’ era, this was a significant breakthrough. 

Instructional Design expands on this, adding that Knowles’ conception of andragogy was “an attempt to develop a theory specifically for adult learning. Knowles emphasises that adults are self-directed and expect to take responsibility for decisions. Adult learning programs must accommodate this fundamental aspect…andragogy means that instruction for adults needs to focus more on the process and less on the content being taught.”

Accordingly, Knowles outlined four overarching principles that define adult learning. These are: 

Adults should take ownership of the planning and evaluation of their learning

Experience (including mistakes) provides the basis of adult learning activities

Adults are most interested in subjects that have immediate relevance to their job or personal life

Adult learning should be problem-centred rather than content-centred 

As such, autonomy, relevance, and self-directed learning are central pillars of Knowles’ theory of andragogy. Whereas childhood learning typically focuses more on the ‘what’  —  such as learning basic facts and skills  — adult learning focuses more on the ‘why’, i.e. the processes and reasoning that underpin a specific learning activity.

Put simply, adult learning should strive to answer the question: “what’s in it for me?” Additionally, adult learners should be familiar with the goals and objectives of a particular learning activity beforehand and, ideally, play a role in defining these outcomes. Finally, the content should be relevant to the learners’ life and prior experiences.

As well as Andragogy, there are several other similar adult learning theories, including:

Transformative learning: this theory aims to “change” the student by first using experiences that relate to the student, then undertaking activities that challenge those experiences and offer other points of view.

Self-directed learning: this theory understands that learning is a personal journey and students must use their initiative so they can discover their own learning goals, needs, and strategies.

Experiential learning: this theory is about relating experiences to knowledge. With experiential learning, students learn by doing, including role-playing and using simulations.

To summarise, in Knowles’ own words, “an essential aspect of maturing is developing the ability to take increasing responsibility for our own lives — to become increasingly self-directed.” 

Why are adult learning theories so important?

The importance of adult learning theory is simple: without it, educators can't provide an ideal learning environment for their adult students - which, in the case of a business, is everyone. There is no correct approach to adult learning because there are many variations in how adults retain information. However, employing adult learning principles gives students the best chance to develop.

When you adopt adult learning techniques into your business’s training and development strategy, you increase opportunities for upskilling and decrease the risk of unnecessary stress.

In addition to this, there are many more benefits to applying adult learning principles at work, such as:

Gives students a renewed passion for learning, which increases their engagement.

When students retain information, they can put what they’ve learned into practice, which increases the ROI of your training and development strategy.

By learning new skills and knowledge, employees feel confident in their abilities, which builds self-esteem and improves job satisfaction - this can also help reduce staff turnover. 

Adult learners have a wealth of life experience they can use to apply context to what they’re learning. 

Applying the six adult learning principles 

Now that we understand what adult learning principles — or andragogy — are and why they're important, it’s time to look at these principles in detail. 

As part of his work, Knowles outlined six principles of adult learning. Let’s analyse these six adult learning principles, including how to apply them in an L&D setting. 

First things first, adults must understand why they need to learn something. Without understanding why the learning is relevant, adults will quickly lose interest and disengage. 

While children are like sponges, soaking up vast swathes of information, adult learners are far more discerning. They can distinguish between information they need to know and information that is extraneous to their immediate needs.

So, before designing a learning module, ask yourself, 'what are the key objectives and desired outcomes of this activity?' Put yourself in the learner’s shoes and ponder, ‘what’s in it for me?’

If you can't answer these basic questions, then it is likely that the learning activity will not be relevant or engaging for your learners.

As a child, everything is fresh and exciting. You are learning things for the first time and taking in new experiences. In contrast, adults are experienced learners. From school to informal learning to workplace training and everything in between, they have been there and done that. 

According to eLearning Industry, “as a person matures, they accumulate a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning.” So, even if an adult learner is unfamiliar with a particular concept or subject matter, they can relate it to other skills and lived experiences to inform the learning process. 

This rich wealth of experience should inform learning activities as an adult. Your job as a learning designer is to match this experience with new materials to enrich the learning process. As Maestro Learning explains, “finding ways to integrate this experience with discussion groups and debriefs can be a neat way to help your learners feel like you see the value they bring, too.” 

Adult learners thrive on autonomy. They already know what they need to learn. Your job is to work with them to facilitate that learning. 

Given this, adult learners should be responsible for driving their learning decisions and outcomes. Offer your learners meaningful choices, and watch them thrive. They should also feel like they have ownership over their learning. They are capable of deciding when, where, how, and even if they need to learn something. Therefore, providing opportunities for self-directed learning is vital.

As Knowles put it: “adults believe they are responsible for their lives. They need to be seen and treated as capable and self-directed.”

For more insights into this step, check out our articles on the benefits of self-directed learning and self-leadership. 

Adults learn best when the subject matter can help them solve a pressing, real-life problem. 

While children absorb information as it is presented to them, adults are far more discerning. Unlike children attending school, adults are rarely forced to learn, meaning they can pick and choose what they would like to learn. 

So, when adults do choose to learn something, they are ready. There should be no barriers or obstacles to learning  —  adults are prepared to learn. Think of it this way: you are up for a big promotion that hinges on learning a new skill. In this situation, you are ready and motivated to learn. 

As the University of Phoenix suggested in a recent article, “renewing your readiness to learn as an adult often happens by way of a situational trigger. Perhaps you lose your job or want to switch careers, for example.” 

When mapping out a learning activity, put yourself in your learners’ shoes and ask, ‘is this relevant to my needs?’ or ‘how will this help me?’ Above all, design your learning to address an immediate, relevant need. 

As an adult, learning shifts from being subject-oriented to being goal-oriented. Accordingly, adults should understand the desired outcomes of a learning activity beforehand  — what problem is this learning activity trying to address?

As Maestro Learning puts it, “adults move away from subject-based learning, which centres around simply knowing about a concept, towards problem-based learning, which focuses on knowledge that tangibly contributes to problem-solving.” 

When designing adult learning activities, ensure they solve an explicit, real-life problem.

Finally, Knowles theorised that, in general, adults are intrinsically motivated to learn rather than extrinsically motivated to learn. 

Examples of intrinsic learning motivations include professional development opportunities, interest in a particular subject, increased job satisfaction, improved self-esteem, or a general love of learning. 

We'll examine the fundamental principles of adult learning, asking what adult learning principles are and analysing the six principles of adult learning.

Adult learning principles: what are they & how to apply them

Adult learning principles: what are they and how to apply them

That's a wrap! The 2022 CIPD #FestivalofWork is now over - what an incredible event. Thank you to everyone who came to visit our booth, to our amazing speakers who shared a wealth of knowledge, and to the Go1 team for making it an event to remember! 

Transforming workplace learning - speaking sessions

On the 15th and 16th of June, we set out to help L&D teams prepare for the new world of work and digital transformation. Our lineup of speakers featured several specialists, including L&D analysts, researchers, and practitioners. Together we explored the new tools and methodologies transforming workplace learning today, as well as what’s going to make an impact tomorrow. 

Throughout this event, our panellists explored three L&D pillars: 

We’ve recorded the sessions so that you can learn more about each pillar at your own leisure. Check them out below! 

Level up your learning and content strategy 

In our day 1 session, David Perring, Director of Research at Fosway Group talked with Ollie Browning, VP of sales for EMEA, about the four ways to help organisations create world-class learning and content strategies.  

Developing a world class content strategy: research insights and action plan

Developing a World-Class Content Strategy  

We continued the conversation on day 2 where James Frappell, Customer Success Director, Go1 moderated a panel including Chris Lonsdale, Head of L&D, UDG Healthcare Pic, Scott Sheppard, L&D Manager, LPI, and Craig Hamill, Senior Customer Success Manager, Go1 to examine insights from a joint research piece between Go1 and the Phosphate Group.  

Developing a world class content strategy - Festival of Work

🎯 Aligning the right content to your strategy through content curation - finding the right resources at scale across hundreds of topics will fill knowledge gaps and right-skill your people. 

Considerate curation and the effectiveness of right-skilling 

Kelly Jenkins, Sales Development Manager at Go1, Amanda Nolen, Co-Founder of Niles-Nolen, Sebastian Tindall, Director or L&D Operations with Vitality and Josh Novelle, Director of Digital Learning Solutions with Warner Music Group, gathered to discuss the why behind curation and effectiveness of right-skilling.  

How to master the art of content curation

How to master the art of L&D content curation - session 2 

Hear from panellists Naomi Hepworth, Sales Manager at Go1, Amanda Nolen, Co-Founder of Niles-Nolen, Satnam Sagoo, Associate Chief People Officer at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, and Paul Neville Freelance Positive Change Leader, on utilising L&D to upskill and retain existing talent in the post-pandemic world. 

🎯 Inspire community learning. By creating environments that encourage learning within your organisation, L&D can empower their people to flourish and develop. 

Unlock the learning capability of your teams 

James Frappell, Customer Success Director at Go1 invited Andy Stopps from Lohnmann & Rauscher and Laura Overton from Emerging Stronger to discuss how managers can facilitate learning within their team.  

Learning in teams: the vital role of the manager

Smarter ways for cultivating learning in workplace communities 

Craig Hamill, Senior Customer Success Manager, Go1 moderated a panel between Laura Overton, Co-Founder, Emerging Stronger and Malcom Taylor, Senior People Development Manager, Met Office to discuss the importance of workplace communities and ways to cultivate learning in these spaces where natural collaboration is already in place.  

Smarter ways of cultivating learning in workplace communities

Lots to catch up on but there you have it. We're so grateful to all of our speakers, who shared their insights and expertise with us at the Festival of Work. We couldn't have done it without you! 

We also want to thank everyone who joined us in person or remotely for our sessions on the latest topics and trends in L&D. 

We'd love to keep the conversation going — make sure to check out our upcoming events here.  

We couldn't be happier with how our stand turned out. It was such a fun and collaborative environment to interact with everyone - definitely a highlight for us!

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter and stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. 

You can also book a demo today to discover how Go1 can help with your team’s learning needs. 

At the Festival of Work, we set out to help L&D teams prepare for the new world of work and digital transformation. Check out our full wrap up of the event here!

A look back at the Festival of Work

At the Festival of Work, we set out to help L&D teams prepare for the new world of work and digital transformation. Check out our full wrap-up of the event here! 

Kelly Jenkins, Sales Development Manager at Go1, Amanda Nolen, Co-Founder of Niles-Nolen, Sebastian Tindall, Director or L&D Operations with Vitality and Josh Novelle, Director of Digital Learning Solutions with Warner Music Group, gather to discuss the why behind curation and effectiveness of right-skilling at Festival of Work in London. 

Amanda begins the discussion by reflecting on the continued decline of skills and workers switching occupations, accelerated by the pandemic. Opening the floor to the panel, she asks how successful they might have been in facilitating this change. Josh considers how his team made meaningful content accessible to audiences regardless of location, whilst Sebastian reflects on the organisation's initial struggle with the transition to digital L&D resources, highlighting how adaptability is key for organisations’ long term success. 

Finally, Kelly underlines the significance of soft skills and digital agility from a senior leadership perspective. Amanda explores this further, questioning how engaged people are with the idea of learning. Josh states that companies with authentic, intentional L&D programmes are more impactful. 

Using the poll feature, Amanda asked the audience: In one word, how would you describe your upskilling strategy? The audience answered, ‘internal, sketchy, changing and tedious’. 

Next, the panel explores their relationship with talent from fully integrated to sileod structures. Sebastian states that his organisation is increasingly collaborative, taking a holistic approach. In agreement, Kelly explores the synergy between talent and L&D; highlighting the importance of open conversations and bringing teams together. 

Understanding relationships with talent management is crucial to successful upskilling and an important driver in employee retention. Companies with a strategy for internal mobility find that employees stay twice as long. Josh continues the discussion, advising that upskilling and reskilling strategy starts with the talent life cycle. 

When reviewing the growing difficulty for companies to stay competitive, Kelly advises her clients that access to resources as well as navigating the optics between L&D and talent is key. Amanda agrees, recommending tackling a tangible need and growing skills internally.

Amanda points out that people can't always be moved to fit the company’s needs, and asks the panel to share their best practices for aligning content curation against the needs of the organisation. Sebastian advises to identify what skills are going to be fundamental to your company’s success in 5 years time and resultantly get ahead of the economic curve.

Amanda agrees, stating that some technical skills now have a lifetime of just 2.5 years. Josh shares his experience of learning through network connections and peer-to-peer learning. He says that soft skills have no shelf life, and those individuals willing and curious are the ones to help you forecast technical skills. 

The panel concluded that forecasting future skills is speculative and a test and learn approach is most effective. When it comes to giving advice to Go1 customers around curation, Kelly stresses the importance of quality over quantity. With over 100,000 courses, Go1 is a content aggregator but also an ongoing content curation platform. Kelly shares that they can inform decisions based on real time data, identifying what’s working for customers in your industry and wider ecosystem.

Bringing the session to a close, the panel review how they can seize the opportunities brought to us by the pandemic and not regress. Sebastian reflects on employee migration and the increase in new vacancies. Josh adds the importance of organisation’s fostering an experimentation culture, to attract future employees. Kelly concludes that this comes back to digital agility and having the L&D resources to support such individuals’ aspirations. 

For more insights, be sure to subscribe to the Go1 newsletter to stay on top of all the latest L&D trends. Or book a demo today and discover the ways Go1 can help with your organisation's learning needs.

The first session of 'Mastering the art of L&D content-curation' from Festival of Work in London. Our expert panel discuss the consideration and adaptability phases of content curation and up skilling for the future.

Considerate curation and the effectiveness of right-skilling

The first session of 'Mastering the art of L&D content-curation' from Festival of Work in London. Our expert panel discuss the consideration and adaptability phases of content curation and up skilling for the future. 

The term DevOps merges two processes: development, “Dev”, and operations, “Ops”. Together, they enable a greater level of planning, productivity, collaboration, and efficiency, while limiting downtime and increasing security.

By utilizing DevOps a business can shorten the time between development and implementation, and therefore speed up delivery times and quickly identify and rectify issues.

Because these two processes are being brought together, it requires leadership from a dedicated and skilled DevOps manager. But exactly what DevOps skills does a manager need, and how can they be developed?

In this post, we’re going to explore what DevOps manager skills are needed to ensure the process runs smoothly, and how your business can develop and upskill your employees to provide them with the skills and knowledge they need.

Why does a DevOps team need a skilled manager?

Rather than considering software development and operations as two separate entities, DevOps recognizes that both are dependent on each other. Without one, the other cannot function - and vice versa. While the two areas can successfully work as individuals, when the two come together it streamlines processes which save time, effort, energy, and money.

It’s a DevOps manager's responsibility that all this happens smoothly. It requires overseeing the relationship between the two teams and helping them to overcome any obstacles that may arise. Without a good manager, DevOps will never be as efficient and productive as it can be.

So, exactly what skills are needed to bring a team together to produce the best possible output?

A DevOps manager needs a wealth of skills, knowledge, and experience to be able to successfully lead a team. Both technical and soft skills are required to manage both the operations side and the personnel side. A manager not only needs to know the ins and outs of the software development process and the operations process but also skills related to HR.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at five of the most common skills needed to be a great DevOps manager.

Excellent communication and collaboration skills

While not specific to a DevOps manager, communication and collaboration skills are one of the most important skills required. The goal of DevOps is to bring two teams - who previously worked independently of one another - together, and in order to do that communication and collaboration are key.

To communicate effectively, a DevOps manager must have empathy and confidence, and be an active listener. They must be good at communicating under pressure, and clearly and concisely give guidance and instructions to team members, who will also be feeling the pressure.

DevOps is also about collaboration, so a manager must be able to strategize and execute those strategies to make that happen. They’ll need to spot opportunities and encourage team members to work together to overcome problems and take accountability for the success of the entire team.

Streamlining the development and operations process is the goal of DevOps, and communication and collaboration is the way to make that happen.

Coding (including scripting and automation)

Coding isn’t a necessary skill for every member of the DevOps team, as this expertise lies with the engineers, however, it is something a DevOps manager should be proficient in. Because DevOps requires coding knowledge, that’s exactly what a DevOps manager should be familiar with too. As a manager, engineers will seek advice and help, so a manager needs to be able to offer support to all members of the team. 

DevOps managers should be familiar with a range of tools and languages, including:

Complex automated delivery is an important part of DevOps, as it simplifies development and speeds up delivery. So, a sound knowledge of automation in DevOps and AI is also necessary.

DevOps is becoming increasingly reliant on cloud-based systems, and as a result, a DevOps manager should have a solid knowledge of cloud-based systems. Just like DevOps provides an agile environment for teams to work, so do cloud-based systems.

We’ve already covered automation, but it’s cloud-based systems that provide a centralized platform for production and deployment, as well as testing. Most cloud providers already have the ability to support DevOps, such as continuous integration and development tools. While a DevOps manager may not be involved in the nitty-gritty development or operations process, they will need to be able to step in when required.

In DevOps, testing is continuous, which is one of the reasons why businesses that utilize DevOps can deliver so much quicker. As part of a manager’s DevOps skills matrix, they should be familiar with the testing process at each stage of the development cycle.

At each stage of the software development cycle, different forms of testing are needed. While this responsibility is shared, a DevOps manager will oversee the process, and therefore will need the skills and knowledge necessary. A manager will need to work with their teams to identify the best strategy to ensure continuous and automated testing.

The entire point of DevOps is to improve the overall customer experience. By speeding up delivery and identifying and fixing issues quickly, it provides the customer with a much more positive level of service. For that reason, one of the top DevOps skills is ensuring the customer always remains the focus.

A big concern of customers is security, so overseeing security issues and quality assurance should always be a high priority. Similarly, a manager should be flexible and able to think on their feet to help overcome potential problems.

To keep the customer the focus, it’s important that a DevOps manager prioritizes the following:

Fully utilizes automation and continuous delivery

Has a solid and continuous testing strategy

Go1 has an extensive library of DevOps related courses

As more businesses adopt their strategies, it’s important to know these essential skills to succeed in DevOps management. Get help from the experts at Go1.